Music-leaf turner.



No. 627,553. Patented June 27, i899. J. D. WEAVER.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

- 'Application led Feb. 24, 1898.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

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MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

Application filed Fe`b.24, 1898.)

2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN I). WIEAVER, OF SPRING MILLS,

PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- IIALFTO MICHAEL SIIIRES, OF'OSAME PLACE.

MUSIC-LEAF TURNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,553, dated June 27, 18994.

Application led February 24, 1898. Serial No. 671,426. (N0 model.)

To all whom, t may concern.-

Beit known that I, JOHN D WEAvER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Spring Mills, in the county of Centre and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in M usic-Leaf Turners 3 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Myinvention relates to devices for turning the leaves of books and especially leaves of music. Its object is to enable each leaf to be firmly grasped and quickly turned by the operation of a lever convenient to the keyboard, providing also for holding and turning any loose or separate sheet; and it consists, essentially, of a folding leaf or book support, a frame for holding the working parts, a moment device or governor to permit the spring to act step by step, an operating-lever, an equalizing-spring to distributethe force of the motor-spring, and otherparts whichserve to make up an accurate and readily-operated music-leaf turner.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a frontA elevation of my device, one of thevfingers being shown as thrown over in the position itwould' assume after turning a leaf. Fig.v 2 is a transverse section through the frame carrying the actuating parts on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partial longitudinal staggered section through the device, particularly through the frame carrying the working parts, on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. t is a side elevation of the device. Fig. 5 is a partial longitudinal section at the end of the framecarrying the actuating parts. Fig. 6 is a perspective of the escapement device detached, showingv also the relation of the operating-lever to the escapement device. Fig. 7 is a detail of the outer end of the lower rack-bar of the escapement. Fig. 8 is a detached perspective rod for holding and turning a separate or Fig. 9 representsthe upper and lower fingers or clamps and rod for grasping and turning a sheet and also a middle clamp 2 hinged to it at 3, so that the face-board may l be folded down upon the back or thrown out, as shown in Fig. 4, to hold forward the music.

4c is a frame carrying the actuating parts, consisting, essentially, of a motor-spring 5, a slide 6, adapted to be reciprocated by the motor-spring through the medium of a rod 7, having a double ferrule, an escapement device 8, an operating-lever 9, worked by a rod 10, lever-fingers 11, and a regulating device The motor-spring 5 lies in a channel in the frame 4, and in front of it is a trough 13, lying iu a recess in the frame 4: and carrying the slide 6. Above the slide 6 is a grooved cap-plate 14:, and in each groove lies one end of a lever-iin ger 11. All of thefingers are piv- ,oted at 15 on a common center, and each iinger has iixed in the slide a corresponding pin 16. The slide is grooved at 17 to receive the end of each lever-finger and has a transverse cut 1S to permit the short end of a lever-finger to turn on its pivot when its pin 16 is bearing against the notched end of the lever-finger. The groove and cut are so arranged that as the short end of a lever-finger turns a'point of the notched end may turn into the recess, so that the shoulder of the recess may engage the point and complete the turning of the lever-iinger, which at the end of its movement lies in the corresponding grooves of the capplate and slide. The pins 16 are arranged in progressive order to enable each pin to catch a lever-finger in turn as the slide moves forward step by step. ,This step-by-step movement is secured by the operation of the escapement device or governor 8. This governor lies in the bottom, of frame el and is connected at the inner end, as shown, to the ferrule, in one part of which lies an end of the IOO motor-spring 5. It consists of a rod or sleeve 19, having a push-button 2O on its end. The rod 19 has formed on its top a series of teeth 2l, and a toothed bar 22 is pivoted at 23 in the inner end of the rod 19, the teeth playing through a slot in the bottom of the rod and is normally pressed outward by the spring 24. The actionoi:` this spring is controlled by a bayonet-joint sleeve 25, which when turned so that the shoulders of its short recess pass beneath the undercut ends of the head 26 oi' the bar 22'will hold up the bar, so that its teeth lie within the rod 19, while when the longer recess corresponds with the head 26 the bar is free to play up and down and when the joint is turned over the head 26 the bar is locked down. 1

The operating-lever 9 is perforated at 27 and embraces the escapement device or governor, as shown. The lever is pivoted at 23 to a bracket 29, and a spring 30 tends to hold it up, so that the bottom of the perforation 27 is normally held up against the rod 19. The bracket 29 also holds ball-bearing cups 31 with threaded Shanks, which while iirmly supporting the lever 9 enable it to be readily operated.

At about the center of the frame 4, supported, as shown at 32, is a spindle or hollow post 33. Integral with or connected to this spindle is a rod 34, which extends beyond the top of the board and there passes through and is held by a cap or finder 35, secured to the backboard and having preferably a funnel-shaped mouth to enable the rod to readily find the opening. The top of the rod projecting beyond the cap forms a pivot and support for a leaf-turning rod 36 or for one of the upper fingers carried by a rod or for both rod and finger, according to the arrangement in use.

Each of the vfingers is shown with a hollow post 37 at the free end, which is adapted to receive the shank of a finger-clamp 33 or a leaf-turning rod. The Enger-clamps 33 preferably consist of two grasping members, as.

shown, and one or both may be rubber-faced, as indicated at 39, or one or both may be of spring metal. These finger-clamps are obviously adapted to grasp a leaf either at the topl or bottom, or two may be used, as shown in Figs.l 1 and 9, with or without such an intermediate clamp 40 for the center of a sheet, as is shown at Fig. 9.

The motor-spring 5 is regulated by means of a device 12. This device consists of a sleeve 41, in which lies a pivoted rack 42, normally held up by a spring 43, so that one of its teethwill engage a plate on the side of the frame 4. It is obvious that the tension or compression of the spring will depend upon the position in or out of the regulating device. I prefer also to use an equalizing-spring 44 to distribute the force of the motor-spring. I have shown this spring wound about the post 33, one end grasping the irstnger when it is lying to the right, so that the armof the spring bears in upon the front of the linger and the other end grasping the third finger, which is usually the last finger, so that the arm of the spring bears upon the back of the finger. The result is that the first finger is retarded and will not be thrown violently, the second will have the average pressure, and the third will have the assistance of the equalizing-spring in being thrown over, so that the weakened power of the motor-spring is augmented by the upward pressure of the equalizing-spring.

The fingers 45 are to hold fast the covers of a book or piece of music.

46 represents handles to enable the folding back to be easily operated, and for a like convenience in operating from the side to fold up the device I have shown the rod 10 extended at one end.

In the modilication, Fig. 11, I show a rod 47, twisted around the usual rod 36. It is apparent that the twisted rod may be released or sprung out from its grip at the bottom and then applied to the edge of a loose or other sheet to hold it along its whole length, the bottom of the rod being again sprung into position with the turn at the bottom partially encircling the finger. I have in Fig. 1 illustrated my device as operating with three fingers, the number usually required; but it is obvious that I am not limited in number or similar details in my device. In Fig. 1 the first lever-finger has been thrown. It holds a simple clamp 3S. The second lever-nger carries a clamp 38, which has its rod 36 and the intermediate clamp 40, the rod being pivoted at the top of the rod 34. The third tinger carries a rod 36 and may have the clamp 47. (Shown in Fig. 11.) This arrangement will operate with a three-sheet piece of music or a piece of seven pages. The cover and first and last page are held down by the tingers 45. The iirst sheet (pages 2 and 3) is grasped at the bottom by the finger-clamp 33 of the irst finger-lever. The second sheet, (pages 4 and 5,) usuallyaloose sheet, is placed in the lower finger-clamp 38 and the middle clamp 40, the connecting-rods lying behind and helping to carry over the sheet. The third sheet (pages 6 and '7) lies upon the rod 36, placed in the third linger, and is grasped at the top by the upper finger-clamp 33. Vhen the player strikes the rod 10, which may lie immediately over the keyboard in easy reach of finger, thumb, or hand, the lever 9 is pulled down. This releases the escapementgovernor 3, which has hitherto been held back by a tooth of the lower bar, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The first finger is now started by the action of the motor-spring driving forward the slide 6, so that a pin 16 strikes the notched end of a lever-linger 11, as before described. Upon the release of the rod, which in practice is immediate, the lever 9 springs back and permits the escapement-governor to complete the travel for the full distance between two teeth of the bars, it having gone but halfl IOO IOS

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caught by the next tooth of the upper bar 2l, it being observed that the teeth of the two bars are in alternating relation. Each such operation throws a finger. All of the fingers may be returned in order by pushing in the governor against the pressure of the motorspring, the spring-bar 22 yielding readily in passing over the bottom of the perforation 27 of the lever 9. If desired, however, the lower bar maybe locked down by turning the sleeve 25 over the head 26, so that a series of pressures may be used to return the fingers and compress the motor-spring, in which case the teeth click over the bottom of the perforation 27, bearing down each time the lever 9. Again, this governor may be arranged so that all the fingers may be operated without the use of a spring. This is done by turning the joint 25, so that the undercuts of the head 26 lie over the shoulders of the short recess, in which case the bar 22 is held up, so that its teeth are fiush'with the bottoln of the sleeve 19. Then of course the governor becomes a handle which may be drawn out or pushed in at will, carrying the slide 6 with it. This enables me also to easily remove the-governor from the frame,the action of the motor-spring, if it be present, upon such removal being confined by the slide 6,abutting against the shoulder of its recess or trough 13.

Having fully described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An escapementgovernor for a motorspring, consisting essentially of a rod or sleeve, bearing opposite sets of teeth, one set being fixed the other being adjustable, means for fixing or releasing the adjustable teeth, and means for engaging the several teeth, substantiallyv as described.

2. The combination of a motor-spring, leafengaging fingers, an escapement-governor, having teeth on opposite sides, means for withdrawing one set of teeth from action, and a lever embracing the escapement device, substantially as described.

3. In a music-leaf turner, the combination of fingers, and a motor, with an equalizingspring engaging the first and last of the fin'- gers so as to retard the first and accelerate the last to accord with the desired average impetus, substantially as described.

4. In a music-leaf turner, the combination of a base, a motor-spring lying in the base, a` 

